Best Bites café finds a new home at West Kirby Concourse
A café offering vocational training and work experience to people with learning disabilities has been relocated.
Formerly based in The Grange, Wallasey, Best Bites café now has a new lease of life at West Kirby Concourse, serving food and drinks to leisure centre customers, along with residents and visitors to the seaside town.
Best Bites is run by Wirral Council Adult Social Care who provides a day service for training and employment opportunities, specialising in hospitality and catering for adults with a learning disability.
The service enables people with a care and support need to achieve nationally recognised qualifications within a real work environment, supporting individuals to gain employment or go on to further training/education.
Cllr Graeme Cooper, Chair of Wirral Council’s Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee, said:
Best Bites is a fantastic service which, through work experience and hands-on learning, enables individuals to gain new skills which are transferrable to the workplace as well as in their everyday lives.
This way of learning increases self-esteem and confidence while helping to develop problem-solving and customer service skills.
And perhaps most importantly, the café’s team have settled in to their new workplace brilliantly. They’ve taken the move in their stride, and their passion, hard work, and smiling faces are already making Best Bites a standout feature of the Concourse.
The café itself has been refitted with a modern kitchen and a fresh layout – including the addition of new till and payment systems. A brand-new menu caters to a range of tastes and dietary needs.
James L, who is supported by Best Bites, said:
I am getting used to everything, I feel there is more to do and the cafe is much bigger. I like new challenges and meeting new people.
David E, also supported by Best Bites, said:
I am very happy because the kitchen is bigger, giving more opportunities and challenges. I can meet new people and use the gym after work because I am a member.
Serving breakfast, lunch, ‘light bites’ and hot and cold drinks at affordable prices, the café also has a kids’ menu so that visitors of all ages can enjoy something – which may be very welcome after a gym session or a swim!
The café is open to all, seven days a week, 9am – 4pm (last orders from around 3.30pm).
